Gluten-Free Fish Cakes with Lemon Aioli (Dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, gluten-free)

We had Tilapia on hand & I was not in the mood for baking it, or grilling it….Hmmm, I started to think.  What to do, what to do?  Oh, Fish Cakes (my grandmother has been on my mind an awful lot lately) & she used to make fish cakes fairly often, they were wicked good & I miss them & her lots. Here is a bit of a “healthier” take on Fish cakes, gluten-free & packed with some extra protein.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Tilapia (or white fish of your choice) – blended in the food processor

1 can of Chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans) – also blended in food processor

1 cup (ground) of Gluten-free Hummus chips – also in food processor (see pic below)

Squeeze 1/2 of a lemon (preserve the other 1/2 to share at the table & squeeze onto your fish cakes when serving)

Zest 2 Tsp. of fresh lemon

1 Tbsp. smoked paprika

1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

2 Tbsp. Horseradish Mustard (gluten-free, check label)

Ground pepper to taste

I added no salt, because the chips I put in are fairly salty.

3 Tbsp. Vegetable, Canola, Olive, or Coconut Oil for flash frying, (to coat bottom of pan) (Do not deep fry, they will be so greasy if you do)

Blend all ingredients together well in a large mixing bowl.  Warm your frying pan on the stove top (with oil of your choice), medium-high heat (your pan is too hot if it’s smoking).  Form patties with your hands, it’s really the only way to do it, go ahead, it’s your food, get messy!

Preheat the oven at the same time to 375 F.  You will only flash fry (get a brown on your cakes; both sides) and then place them on a paper towel to remove excess grease, before moving them to oven for for 5-7 min. on each side.    With the fish cakes I served a lime cilantro rice & fresh organic asparagus (from South Shore Organics)  On the fish cakes was my homemade Lemon Aioli (this link will redirect you to Zara’s hungry where I did a guest post of this recipe)  Now, I know I said Dairy-free, for this you will obviously leave out the Lemon Aioli, the fish cakes are Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free & Gluten-Free, but not delicious free, they were sooooo good!!  My oldest (who is my picky eater) at 3 fish cakes, 3 & his asparagus!!  Parental victory

These Hummus Chips are delicious, but are a tad salty, they were perfect as a “breadcrumb” substitute

Horseradish Mustard

Always read labels, this is safe; Gluten-Free (dairy & nut free as well)

 

Cook, Eat & Enjoy!

Lavender & Mint, not just for bath time; Vegan Sugar Cookies with chocolate mint & edible lavender (gluten-free)

Going to a party, having a party, serving a Vegan guest?  Try these simple cookies out, sure to please!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup soft but not melted coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk (mine was canned, Organic…the cans take some stirring; so you’ll need a separate small bowl & then reserve the rest in your refrigerator)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 all-purpose gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoon baking powder

Approximately 3 Tbsp. Chocolate mint (cut fresh from my garden)

Approximately 2 Tbsp. Edible lavender (also cut fresh from my garden)

Stir all ingredients in a Medium sized bowl, in order shown (herbs first), if you’re using herbs.  This would be a much easier & quicker process with a stand mixer, unfortunately I don’t have one, but that being said it then becomes a great arm workout.  (silver lining)

Once your dough is mixed well, cover with plastic wrap, place in refrigerator for 20-30 min.

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper, grease very lightly.

Once dough is set, taking small pieces at a time from dough (roughly 1 1/2 in. around), work into a ball in your hand & place on cookie sheet, once all dough balls are on your sheet, use a fork to make marks 1 set a cross in each direction, flattens cookie & also gives nice grooves to catch & trap sprinkled sugar.  I used organic cane sugar to sprinkle lightly, but you can use brown sugar, or even cinnamon for a kick, whatever you prefer.

Bake for 8-10 minutes & enjoy!

Chocolate Mint

Chopped mint & lavender in bowl

Fork Marks in the cookies

What finished product looks like.

Buffalo-Chicken Empanada (gluten-free) Recipe

Mission given, come up with a buffalo chicken recipe (for a themed birthday party), my personal mission to not go shopping for any ingredients (I know this sounds a little nuts, but we’re on a strict food budget & have been doing pretty well, so I’m trying to use what we have & not buy extras…when I can)

For the filling you will need:

1 1/4 – 1 1/2 lbs. breast meat chicken
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (Yes, I said feta, I substituted, you can use blue cheese, if you can find gluten-free) Most blue cheese in the U.S. is not gluten-free, because they use wheat to speed up the molding process of the cheese, so please be careful & read labels.
1/2 cup buffalo sauce (made my own, recipe here…you can use store-bought)
2 green onions chopped

Pretty simple, right?

Buffalo chicken filling

For the empanada dough:

2 cups gluten-free flour (I am trying the Trader Joe’s brand all-purpose GF flour)
1 teaspoon flax meal
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup of water

Place all ingredients for dough into a food processor; work quickly, you need to avoid the butter getting warm, ends up gooey, greasy mess!   Once dough is mixed (should spin in a ball all together), place in refrigerator approximately 30 min. (the longer the better, but shouldn’t go more than 1 hour)

My processor is so tiny (it’s a mini-chop mixer) I had to do in 2 separate batches & transfer to large bowl.

Now chilllll…………

Okay, let me say this, I started to freak out after taking the dough out after about 45 min.  I say leave it to chill for at least an hour, or more if you have time.  This was not the easiest dough to work with, I definitely felt like I was failing.  The shape/look of them was not so great, I have no pictures, because I was then running late for the party I needed to get them to.  They did taste good & almost all were gobbled up, so I take that as a good sign. I will make them again this week (my husband has made a special request) & will photograph the final product again (and let the dough chill longer too, so I can tell you if it’s then easier to work with).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

Take out your dough, sprinkle some gluten-free flour on your work surface, roll it around a bit, but not too much (you don’t want to warm it up too much) You can either roll out the whole ball of dough & make your cuts (using either a mold, or cup for example), or you can break off pieces/balls individually roll with pin to flatten (try to get it fairly thin, but not so thin you can’t work with it), this all depends on how “perfect” you want your empanadas to look.  Mine did not look pretty at all, but they did taste good, I wish I got my dough thinner; next time.

To make the empanadas, put the circle into one hand and with a moist finger, dampen half the border of your circle/disc.  Place filling int he middle, close it, press the border, pinch it to close.  The more you do the better they start to look, it takes some practice.

Place on lightly greased baking sheet for 30 min.  (I think next time I will also try putting a light egg wash on the top of them to moisten it a bit while cooking).

This is what my empanadas looked like

This is what I wanted my empanadas to look like

Cook, eat, enjoy!!

 

 

Buffalo Sauce (homemade) gluten-free

I like simple recipes, I like using what I have in the house whenever possible, so here is my version of  Homemade buffalo sauce:

• 1/3 cup Sriracha sauce
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp vegetable, or canola oil
• Yield: About 1/2 cup

Mix rigorously in a small bowl, use as desired…  (I used mine for gluten-free buffalo chicken empanadas/recipe will be posted later today)

Wish you could dip your finger in, tastes so good!

This is exactly how I like any “hot” sauce/buffalo sauce, not too much heat, but nice & spicy; really good flavor!  Mix, eat, enjoy!

Gluten-Free Buffalo Chicken Empanadas (teaser)

We’re going to a birthday party today & I’m trying out a new recipe, Gluten-Free Buffalo Chicken Empanadas (I love empanadas)!!  I’ve never done a buffalo chicken version, so that’s going to be completely new & I’m also going to do a “cooling” treat to go with them…  Vegan Sugar cookies with chocolate mint & edible lavender (there are at least a couple of vegetarians coming to the party & also a child with food allergies),  so I want to make sure I’m bringing something that can be shared with everyone.  I’m thinking with all the heat a sweet treat will be in order.

I’ll include recipe, pics & results later today.  (sorry for the teaser, but I need to get to work!)

Post will be up late tonight, or early tomorrow morning.   Check back soon…

I can only hope mine come out looking this good!!

So busy, so sorry!

I want to apologize right now for my lack of posting.  It’s been 2 weeks & I can’t believe it!  This will not happen again, I promise you.  You will see a new post tomorrow & it will be great (okay, hopefully you will like it)!  {sorry}  Check out our facebook page, I have been doing some short posts on there to share.  www.facebook.com/BecomeUnglud

Remember, Cook, Eat, Enjoy!

“Greek”ish stuffed Chicken – Gluten-Free; Another rewarding Meal Delivery for Kai’s Village.

Another family is being helped in my area (by Kai’s Village) & both myself a group of friends of mine & even more wonderful local  people get to be involved.  We have another meal delivery train going for a local family whose child is in treatment.  I was trying to think outside the box, I have lists of freezer meals, but none of them were sounding appealing to me…I was craving something, but what?  I say “I” because as I said before, whatever I cook for the family we’re delivering to, our family also eats the same thing.  Maybe feeling Greek(ish)?  Yes, that sounds good.  Now, keep in mind, I’m not Greek, I really have no knowledge of true Greek cuisine.

I saw feta cheese while I was out shopping & that’s what did it.  I grabbed a jumbo pack of chicken, boneless, skinless & the thought came to me, grab some Calamata Olives, I had Organic goat cheese at home & decided this would be my mix, I halved the chicken breasts to thin them, then pounded them out.  Now, I have to mention this, I’m a big believer in if you don’t have the appropriate tools, or ingredients you improvise.  I pounded out the chicken with an empty wine bottle, I’m not sure if my mother was more amused by this, or more horrified by this, but this is my way.  I put the breasts between the sheets of wax paper & give them a wicked whack about to get them thin.  I lightly salt & pepper the breasts & then stuff with my mixture, which I’ve prepared in a bowl ahead of time.  I’m not using measurements on this  only because I think you should use as much as you want, but this is what I mixed to stuff:

Feta Cheese

Organic goat cheese

Calamata Olives (diced)

Organic Olive Oil

Oregano

Thyme

Minced Garlic

Baked at 425 F for approximately 30 minutes.  On the outside of rolls, I sprinkled some more oregano & thyme, to give some color & extra flavor.

Chicken after being baked with the crispy fingerling potatoes

What this gorgeous chicken looked like on the inside; nom nom nom!

Oh & here is a link to the recipe I used for the Organic fingerling potatoes, so, so good, we ate the whole batch; no leftovers!!

Crispy Lemon-Garlic Fingerling Potatoes  & this was all served with a fresh, Organic Mesclun salad!